Love is a Strange, Strange Thing
by Mhm.Hello
Summary: Vada finally gets to see her so called "Prince" after a long few months. When she finally gets to see him though, he's changed. Not physically but he seems to feel a little less for Vada. Is the the end of their relationship or is Nick holding a secret
1. Day She's Been Waiting For

_I do not own My Girl or My Girl 2. I do not own any of the fictional characters or any of the actors that play these characters. I am simply a writer and a huge fan. =]_

**Chapter 1**

It's been a long year. Talking on the phone just doesn't seem enough to satisfy a young girl's heart. I don't know if it was his adorable smile, his caring personality or that faithful kiss I was left with before I came back home. All I know is that Los Angeles was the best time I've had since Thomas J. was in my life. Don't get me wrong. I miss Thomas J. very much, so much that I would do almost anything to have him back. Life always seemed happier when he was around, minus the fear of having everything wrong with me, not knowing my mother, and never really understanding myself and the circle of life.

Since last spring break, I've had new responsibilities. I'm a big sister now, and my father and step mother, Shelly, always want me to babysit. But babysitting doesn't even cut half of my chores for my young brother. I have to change his diaper, feed him baby food (Which might I add it smells like rotten fish… and rotten eggs, put together. I don't even understand how Harry Jr. can swallow something that smells so horrible!), and reading to him on Bingo nights. After Shelly gave birth she wanted to have a settle hobby, and my dad of course suggested bingo. I don't understand that at all. I've seen him play bingo, and when he gets a bingo he's more excited than Harry Jr. when he sees a fire truck.

Anyways, it's the last day of school, the last day that I have to do homework, and the last day that I have to wake up at 7:00 in the morning to pretty myself for Mr. Bixler. I had him again this year, of course I was happy, but he was now married so I don't understand why I tried so hard this year to make him notice me more, and how much I was growing in all ways. When I was 11 I had the biggest crush on him, but on the day of Thomas J's funeral I found out that I could never be the love of Mr. Bixlers life. I only pretended that I would be in my dreams, I knew that I'd have to be stuck with Thomas J. all my life, but in the end I didn't even have him. Today was also the day that I would finally get to see Nick again.

"I want to meet this so called _Nick _guy soon Vada!" Judy said at the end of class 5 minutes before the bell rang for school to be out for almost 3 months.

"I promise Judy! You'll get to. I'll bring him over first thing next week okay?" I said rolling my eyes as I said her name. That's all she said to me that hour. That's all she said to me whenever she talked to me. She hardly ever talked to me though. She was always so busy with her super hot boyfriend Kevin. I tried to ignore her, but it was hard because I didn't have many friends. Excitement was building up in my stomach giving me butterflies as I could hear the ticks and the tocks of the school clock getting ready to ring. I couldn't wait till Shelly picked me up after school and took me to the Pennsylvania airport to pick up my Uncle Phil's newly son, Nick.

_Ring!_

And that was the ending school bell. I quickly jumped out of my seat but almost face planted into the floor as I realized my shoelace had been stuck underneath the leg of my chair. Great. I thought to myself, this afternoon was already starting out bad. I didn't want to even think about what was to come when I was around Nick. I knew it would be embarrassing. I got myself unhooked from the chair and walked slowly behind everyone else saying goodbye to my gorgeous ex-teacher. I gave him the brightest smile I could but when I hit the entry of the doorway I picked up the speed and ran out the front school doors luckily dodging every person that came in my way. I looked around looking for my father's car, but it was nowhere to be found. Did Shelly forget? Or was she just running late. My heart started to go slightly into panic mode as I thought about how Nick would feel. Maybe he thought we forgot him, like no one wanted him. It seemed that Shelly knew I was in a deep serious thought because right when I was finished with it, came a long, loud honk coming from the right of me. Like everyone else, I turned to look, and there was Shelly waiting as impatiently as I was. She told me that she was very excited to meet the boy that I couldn't stop talking about.

I ran towards the car and jumped in as quickly as I could, forgetting that a backpack full of heavy school supplies were hanging on my shoulders. I slammed my back into the seat of the car and screamed out in pain. All I could hear was Shelly starting the car and laughing in the background. She must have seen it coming. Before putting on my seatbelt I took my backpack off my shoulders and threw it in the back of the car. Then I heard a click as Shelly surprisingly placed my seatbelt over my chest and into the slot herself.

The next thing I knew, we were pulling into the airport parking lot going up and down each section looking for a place to park.

"Ugh! This is a nightmare!" I heard Shelly say in a whisper, or it could have just seemed like a whisper over the loud plane roaring overhead searching for the runway. Seconds later I felt the car turn to the right and slide to a slight stop before Shelly hit the car parked on the other side of us. It was a close call, but she was lucky.

I looked up at the plane in awe and smiled. "That must be him!" I said loudly so that Shelly could hear my excited expression. I've been waiting this moment since one week after the kiss surprised me that spring break. I stepped out of the car and ran towards the driver's side of the car where Shelly seemed to be taking her sweet time getting out of the car. I quickly grew impatient and grabbed her hand and jerked her all the way out of the car pulling her towards the sliding glass doors of the one place where I knew my prince would be waiting.

I stood there high on my tiptoes searching for his long blonde hair that matched almost mine, but looked slightly softer than anyone's I've ever seen. But he was nowhere to be found. I crossed my arms and slowly began tapping my foot that became more and more unsteady as it seemed to tap it's self faster. I wasn't paying attention to anything in particular until I heard Shelly's voice pointing out boys around my age asking me if that was him. "No. No not him. No Nick's blonde Shelly." Were things that kept coming out of my mouth but something caught my eye. It wasn't the blonde hair that reminded me of someone, it was the glasses that rose high on his nose.

He was someone I used to know. I raised my hand to eye level and I saw for the first time since Thomas J.'s death, my mood ring turned a different color, well different colors. It was a mixture of pretty colors ranging from blue to red. It was a beautiful sight, so magnificent that I almost forgot the reason for being at this airport at this time. I snapped out of my daze and made myself focus when I heard Shelly's soft voice point out more young kids. I was starting to get annoyed when I finally felt like hugging Shelly to her death. I saw him looking around for a girl similar to me and I stepped forward. I was so excited I could barley move. I took another step and I could feel the redness in my cheeks turn from a rosy pink to a hot chili pepper red. I couldn't stop walking, like a force wash pushing me towards him, his force. I smiled as I saw his head turn my way. I wasn't sure if he recognized me because he didn't smile. A few seconds after my theory hit, that's when he finally smiled. My pace sped up as Shelly tried to keep up with me. It felt like I was running from her, but I wasn't. I was running to him.

And then, I was in his arms. I wasn't sure if I landed there, or if he pulled me there, but I was there and I was happy.

After what seemed like a lifetime but was actually only a true 7 seconds, I loosened my grip from his neck and gave him a big smile. I saw him smile back, but that was it. I could feel myself getting ready to blush as I began laughing for no apparent reason. I was thankful that Shelly was there with me because she saved me from embarrassment. She knew that I was nervous so she decided to start her own conversation with the Nick that just looked at me like I was crazy.

"So you must be Nick. Well it's very nice to meet you. I'm Shelly"

"It's Nice to meet you Shelly. Vada's told me a lot about you over the phone. "

I smiled calmly as I tried to hold my breath hoping not to invade his space more than I already have. It felt like something was different about Nick, and I wasn't so sure about it. I was expecting a little more from Nick, like answers to my questions that weren't just two words. I figured that he was just tired from being on the plane, which I could totally understand, so I blew it off like nothing was wrong.

We had made it back to the car within a few minutes, surprisingly. I opened the trunk and grabbed his suitcase to put it in but I pretended like it was too heavy for a little girl like me, (Which it was heavy but not as heavy as I made it out to be.) The next thing I knew he had grabbed the other end and swung it into the back before I could even say thank you. He then turned to the left and quickly got into the car as I slowly walked to the right now worrying about his attitude. What had I done? Was I not supposed to hug him after we haven't seen each other after a couple of months? I was feeling ashamed.

I climbed into the car and shut the door behind me almost snagging my lacy skirt in the door. Shelly pulled out and commented on our quietness as we drove down the road. "You know, I would have figured that you two would be talking up a storm but you two are so quiet. Everything okay?"

Before I could answer back there was a soft, "fine" spilled out of Nick's lips. I looked over at him and saw that his hand was directly in between the two sides of the car seat. Would he be even madder if I held my hand over his like I was trying to comfort him. That's when I remembered what my father said my mother used to tell him all the time. "You won't know till you try it." I slowly stretched my hand towards him pulling back every time I felt I got too close going a little farther each time.

I could tell that he saw my hand fidgeting attempting to make my way to his. I felt extremely relieved when he reached out for mine before I made it to his. Seconds later though, he pulled away. I could feel my smile turn upside down the moment he pulled away. This was going to be quite an interesting drive, I thought to myself as I placed my head against the window and looked out at the passing buildings.


	2. Problem Solved, Or So She Thought

By the time we got home, Nick and I were still quiet. When Shelly parked the car into the garage I jumped out in a hurry, happy to finally be home. I opened the back trunk and pulled out his suitcase handing it to him. I expected a thanks but all he did was stomp out of my way. What was wrong with him? He was being extremely rude now. I rolled my eyes at his back and followed him and Shelly into the house. There stood my dad holding Harry Jr. in his hands with a bottle down his throat. The milk wasn't down Harry Jr.'s throat, it was down Harry Sr.'s throat. I burst out laughing but no one noticed but Nick. I put 3 fingers over my mouth to quiet myself as I walked up to my dad and took it out of his mouth and placed it into Harry Jr.'s mouth, where it belonged.

I showed Nick where he'd be sleeping. It was across from my old room which was now being used for Harry Jr.'s room.

"It's not much, but it has a bed and a dresser. It used to be my mom's acting room." I said. I walked over and sat on the bed with my legs crossed allowing my feminine side to shine through me. "She used to come in here and practice for upcoming plays I guess." I could tell that Nick wasn't interested. "Are you okay?" I asked concerning.

"Um yeah. I just have a headache, you know from being up in the air for hours." Replied Nick.

"Oh, okay. Well I guess I'll let you unpack."

I walked out of the room shutting the door behind me. I stood there for a minute before stepping away. I decided to walk downstairs and check on my dad and Harry Jr. I never really did say a polite hello.

"Hi dad." I said as I stepped off of the last stair step onto the wooden floor.

"Hey Vada. Can you take Harry for a few minutes. He's driving me up a wall." Said my dad.

"Oh sure. So how's dinner going?" I asked.

"Oh no. I haven't even started!" Shouted my dad.

"It's okay dad! Nick has a headache anyway so he probably wants to take a nap."

"He did seem kind of quiet. So I was wondering if it would be okay if Arthur join's us tonight. His wife is going out with friends and everyone knows he can't cook."

"Sure dad."

"Alright. Well I'll start the spaghetti as soon as I can."

"I'll help you sweetie." Said Shelly coming out from the bathroom.

"Thank you honey, I'm swamped with paper work. Mrs. Avery died this morning. She was such a great woman." Said my father.

"No! I loved Mrs. Avery. She was so… lively."

"Apparently not." I said smart-alecky.

Shelly laughed but my dad just stood there. He didn't enjoy death jokes like ones I said sometimes. He didn't think it was polite to the families who just lost a loved one to hear a funny statement about their death. I didn't want to always make jokes, it was just who I was. I put Harry Jr. on the floor in a corner and sat down in front of him. I tried to teach him how to play patty cake but it wasn't working out very well. Before I knew it, Shelly had concocted a huge bowl of spaghetti and she got my attention to go get Nick. I handed Harry Jr. over to Shelly and walked up the stairs. I stopped in front of his door with my fist ready to knock. I didn't hear anything, not even breathing so I was worried that he had died within the hour and a half he'd been up here alone. I twisted the door knob to find him past out on the bed, but he awoke my footsteps. I jumped when he sat up still thinking he was dead.

"You couldn't knock?" Said Nick groggy from his sleep.

"Sorry." I said not wanting to explain my theory that he was dead. "Um, dinners ready." I turned around and walked out of the room and headed down stairs. I stopped in the entryway of the kitchen because Shelly and my dad were bickering about if Harry Jr. would be able to swallow meatballs or if he'd choke. My dad said if the pieces were cut up into chocolate chip sized pieces he'd be fine, but Shelly didn't want to risk it. While being nosy I realized Nick came and stood beside me.

"How's your head?" I asked him as we were waiting for someone to decide on what Harry Jr. would eat.

"A little better." He replied.

"I don't want to risk my baby chocking on a piece of meat Harry!" Yelled Shelly. "We're not going to feed him any meat until he grows teeth to chew it."

When Arthur walked through the front door, he caught my attention. I walked over to him and gave him a bear hug. Arthur was like another father to me. He stopped for a second and listened.

"Are they fighting again?" He asked.

"No, they're just having a disagreement." I replied. When Arthur said that it made me worried about how well their relationship was. They were constantly disagreeing on what was best for Harry Jr. I wondered if my mom and dad fought about what was best for me like that when I was a baby.

"You must be Nick!" Arthur said approaching the newly awaken Nick.

"Arthur?" He asked.

"Nice to meet you boy. Vada's told me a lot about you."

"I've heard that before." He said jokingly. That was the first time I heard him joke since I first saw him almost 3 hours earlier.

Arthur walked into the kitchen and broke up the disagreement and told my father that Shelly knew best. Arthur hasn't had any kids yet, so he wouldn't know what to do but he knew that Shelly was mostly right about everything else about the baby. He sat down at the table where he normally sat. "I'm starving! Let's eat!" He said. Everyone else took their seats and piled a couple spoonfuls of spaghetti onto their plates.

Conversations arose when people didn't have food in their mouth, everyone but me and Nick. Shelly looked at me asking why we were so quiet, without even saying a word, I just shrugged my shoulders. It was the truth though, I still hadn't found out what was wrong with my so called "Prince". I was beginning to become very disappointed. When everyone was finished I collected the plates placing them into a sink. I asked around if anyone wanted dessert but they were all stuffed, including myself. Nick excused himself.

"Would you all be terribly mad at me if I went upstairs to bed? My headache keeps coming back and it's really bugging me." Said Nick.

"Of course not sweetie." Replied Shelly, "I'm sure we've all been there." She gave him a friendly smile as he walked up the stairs.

"Well thank you for dinner, and good night." He said.

"You're welcome Nick. Sleep tight." My father yelled up the stairs.

"Vada would you like help with those dishes?" Shelly asked as I turned on the water. Before I could help she was by my side throwing the napkins and extra spaghetti into the trash can. She shooed my father and Arthur away into a different room so that we could talk.

"Vada I know something's wrong with you two. You were extremely happy to see Nick… before you saw him, but once you did it was zip."

"Truthfully?" I asked

"100%"

"I don't know. I was excited to see him, I'm excited he's here, it's just that I think he's resenting me. I don't know what I did to him. It seemed like he was happy to see me the very first time he laid eyes on me in that airport, but just seconds after that, he was blank. I feel so stupid!"

"That's very strange Vada. I'm sure he's not resenting you. You have done nothing to him to make him not want to spend time with you. You've only been good to him. I bet it's just his headache. They always seem to take the fun out of everything."

"But what if it isn't. What if he doesn't want to be here. If that were true it would be like we are holding him against his will. Maybe we should just send him back."

"You make him sound like a package." She laughed.

"Well at the moment he is!" I replied.

While she finished laughing, she told me, "If you're that worried about it sweetie, talk to him."

I finished washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen. Shelly had finished a while ago after we were done talking and joined my father and Arthur. They were in the living room watching the wheel of fortune. I was going to join them when I thought about what Shelly said. I had the words "talk to him" replaying in my mind over and over again, like my conscience was telling me that I had to talk to him, tonight or I might just die. I walked into the living room watching the tv for a moment. "I think I'm going to go to bed too. I need to be rested for tomorrow." I said. I turned around and walked up the stairs. I went into my room and changed into my long pajamas and took my hair out of my everyday pony tail brushing through it slowly.

I stepped out of my doorway and walked towards Nick's room. I stopped remembering to knock and when I heard a "come in" from the other side, I did just that. Instead of finding Nick laid across the bed, I found him sitting on the edge with his hands on his knees. He looked up at me and I crossed the room. I sat next to him in silence as I waited for the right words to say to come to my head.

"Nick, I smarter than that." I said trying to sound mysterious yet concerned,

"Smarter than what?" He snapped back.

"Headache? Nick you've been dismissing yourself from my side ever since we found you in the airport. What have I done that makes you feel disgusted around me?"

"Disgusted? You think I'm disgusted by you Vada? It's totally the opposite." He said. I sat there in silence trying to understand what he'd just stated.

"I… I don't understand."

He turned to me and looked into my eyes. "Look Vada, I've done something that makes me hate myself. I didn't hold it against me until I saw you this afternoon." He replied. I could have sworn I saw tears forming in his eyes, but I could have been wrong. "Ugh."

"Nick, you can tell me anything. I thought you knew that."

"I do Vada, I do. But I'm afraid that if I do you'll hate me for the rest of my existence!"

"How could I hate you for that long?"

"I kissed another girl." He said out loud as I was just finishing my last word.

"Oh." I said flabbergasted.

"I know. I'm so horrible. It's just that she was having problems with her boyfriend and I thought it'd make her feel a little better, but it turned out to be more." He looked away from me. "Or at least she thought it meant more."

"Did you think of it as something more?"

"Not at the beginning, but then it felt like something. When we stopped I told her that I loved another girl and all those feelings went away. But when I saw you earlier, they came back. They reminded me of what a bad person I was to even think of something like that, of hurting you. Then I felt pains in my stomach every time I was around you, like the feeling when you've hurt someone and they'll never forgive you. That's why I didn't want to tell you. I was hoping they'd go away with some sleep but I couldn't fall asleep again."

We sat there in silence for a little over a minute as I took everything in. So he wasn't resenting me on purpose, he just couldn't stand me. But it wasn't a bad thing. He couldn't stand me because it hurt him to think he was hurting me without me even knowing he was hurting me. Okay, I think I got it all. Without me even thinking of what I was going to do, I was already doing something. I leaned towards him and placed a hand on his face pulling it towards mine. I placed a light kiss on his lips and pulled away. He didn't hesitate.

"I don't understand." He said. "You should hate me. I disrespected you."

"You didn't disrespect me Nick, just worried me." I replied calmly. I felt much better about him being in my home for a few weeks now that I knew he wasn't avoiding me. "Maybe you should get some sleep, you know to destroy that headache of yours."

"Thanks for thinking of me, but I don't actually have a headache. It was just an excuse."

"Oh well, you should still get some sleep. We're going to have fun tomorrow." I said with excitement.

"Any idea what we'll be doing?" He asked

"You'll find out."

"Good Night Vada."

"Good Night Nick.

I gave him one last kiss on the cheek and turned away and walked out the door shutting it quietly behind me. I walked halfway down the stairs to see if everyone was still down there watching wheels of fortune and turned back up the other way and headed to my room. I closed the door and climbed under the covers of my comfy bed falling asleep with a smile on my face.


End file.
